Lotto 3481 - A201 Postwar e contemporary art - giovedì, 30. giugno 2022, 17h00
CARL ANDRE
(Quincy/Massachusetts 1935–lives and works in New York City)
Belgica Blue Poles. 1988.
Belgian Blue Limestone, 8 parts.
Each 15 × 15 × 45 cm. Overall size 45 × 75 × 75 cm.
With a confirmed correspondence by Carl Andre that the original certificate was lost and that these correspondence confirms the authenticity.
Provenance:
- Gallery Plus-Kern, Bruxelles.
- Private collection Bruxelles.
- Christie's New York, Auction 15 May 2002, lot 353.
- Purchased form the above by the present owner, since then private collector Switzerland.
“My work is atheistic, materialistic and communistic. It's atheistic because it's without transcendent form, without spiritual or intellectual quality. Materialistic because it's made out of its own materials without pretension to other materials. And communistic because the form is equally accessible to all men.” Carl Andre
As one of the most innovative artists of his generation, Carl Andre is particularly famous for his minimalist sculptures, which he has been creating since the early 1960s and through which he revolutionised the concept of sculpture.
The strictness of the geometric form, the repetitive nature of the elements and the strong horizontal orientation are the features of Carl Andre's work that immediately captivate the viewer. There is no individual signature, surface structure or narrative content to be seen in his work "Belgica Blue Poles"; rather, 8 elements made of limestone are aligned in a strictly formal, equal manner, with the centre as an empty space. The idea that sculpture is a place rather than an object, which equally includes the space above and beside it, allows the viewer to experience the work with all the senses: the sound when entering, the haptics when touching, the reflection of the light, the play of light and dark. The special effect of the respective materiality — be it unprocessed wood, industrially manufactured wooden planks, bricks, granite blocks, limestone or flat steel, aluminium, lead, zinc, magnesium, and copper plates — demands the sensitive perception of the viewer.
Created in 1988, at a time when many artists were questioning the idea of presenting their works on a plinth, Andre attacked these traditional artistic values head-on. The logical step of aligning his works with the horizontal and placing them directly on the floor, to be stepped on, exemplifies the radical nature of his artistic intention. These floor sculptures are on the same level as human beings, in both the physical and figurative sense.
The work presented here, “Belgica Blue Poles”, is not only visually striking in its clarity, but is also a philosophically exciting work that encourages the viewer to question the relationship that exists between a work of art and its environment, as well as the way our bodies and senses experience art.
A central figure in post-war American art and Minimal Art, Carl Andre has had a significant impact on subsequent generations of sculptors. Born in 1935 in Quincy, Massachusetts, he was primarily self-taught and developed his artistic skills through close interaction with other artists. Frank Stella was particularly influential at the end of the 1950s, as was Constantin Brancusi's oeuvre, with a special focus on the "Endless Column". These encounters provided the impetus for the first body of work of large-format wooden sculptures, which eventually led to an innovative sculptural concept: the Element series. The rigorous simplicity of form with its strict geometry, as well as the concentration on industrially produced materials and their serial arrangement, made him one of the key figures of Minimal Art.
His first solo exhibition in New York (1965) was followed by his participation in the documenta (1968, 1982) and numerous major international exhibitions. Works by Carl Andre are exhibited in important museums worldwide, including the Finnish National Gallery in Helsinki, the Kunsthalle Hamburg, the Musées des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the SMAK Ghent and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
Provenance:
- Gallery Plus-Kern, Bruxelles.
- Private collection Bruxelles.
- Christie's New York, Auction 15 May 2002, lot 353.
- Purchased form the above by the present owner, since then private collector Switzerland.
“My work is atheistic, materialistic and communistic. It's atheistic because it's without transcendent form, without spiritual or intellectual quality. Materialistic because it's made out of its own materials without pretension to other materials. And communistic because the form is equally accessible to all men.” Carl Andre
As one of the most innovative artists of his generation, Carl Andre is particularly famous for his minimalist sculptures, which he has been creating since the early 1960s and through which he revolutionised the concept of sculpture.
The strictness of the geometric form, the repetitive nature of the elements and the strong horizontal orientation are the features of Carl Andre's work that immediately captivate the viewer. There is no individual signature, surface structure or narrative content to be seen in his work "Belgica Blue Poles"; rather, 8 elements made of limestone are aligned in a strictly formal, equal manner, with the centre as an empty space. The idea that sculpture is a place rather than an object, which equally includes the space above and beside it, allows the viewer to experience the work with all the senses: the sound when entering, the haptics when touching, the reflection of the light, the play of light and dark. The special effect of the respective materiality — be it unprocessed wood, industrially manufactured wooden planks, bricks, granite blocks, limestone or flat steel, aluminium, lead, zinc, magnesium, and copper plates — demands the sensitive perception of the viewer.
Created in 1988, at a time when many artists were questioning the idea of presenting their works on a plinth, Andre attacked these traditional artistic values head-on. The logical step of aligning his works with the horizontal and placing them directly on the floor, to be stepped on, exemplifies the radical nature of his artistic intention. These floor sculptures are on the same level as human beings, in both the physical and figurative sense.
The work presented here, “Belgica Blue Poles”, is not only visually striking in its clarity, but is also a philosophically exciting work that encourages the viewer to question the relationship that exists between a work of art and its environment, as well as the way our bodies and senses experience art.
A central figure in post-war American art and Minimal Art, Carl Andre has had a significant impact on subsequent generations of sculptors. Born in 1935 in Quincy, Massachusetts, he was primarily self-taught and developed his artistic skills through close interaction with other artists. Frank Stella was particularly influential at the end of the 1950s, as was Constantin Brancusi's oeuvre, with a special focus on the "Endless Column". These encounters provided the impetus for the first body of work of large-format wooden sculptures, which eventually led to an innovative sculptural concept: the Element series. The rigorous simplicity of form with its strict geometry, as well as the concentration on industrially produced materials and their serial arrangement, made him one of the key figures of Minimal Art.
His first solo exhibition in New York (1965) was followed by his participation in the documenta (1968, 1982) and numerous major international exhibitions. Works by Carl Andre are exhibited in important museums worldwide, including the Finnish National Gallery in Helsinki, the Kunsthalle Hamburg, the Musées des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the SMAK Ghent and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis.
CHF 40 000 / 60 000 | (€ 41 240 / 61 860)
Venduto per CHF 36 900 (incl. premio dell'acquirente)
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